Digital Commons Network^™

Endosymbiotic Prevalence And Reproductive Manipulation Of The Spider Mermessus Fradeorum, Meghan M. Curry

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Spiders are host to a plethora of heritable endosymbiotic bacteria. Broad-taxa screening studies indicate that endosymbionts are particularly common among spiders, however, little is known about how these bacteria affect their spider hosts. In insects these bacteria ensure vertical transmission by either conveying a benefit to the host or manipulating host reproduction to eliminate males that serve as evolutionary dead-ends for maternally-inherited bacteria. Common modes of reproductive manipulation include parthenogenesis, male killing, feminization, and cytoplasmic incompatibility. Screening an assemblage of Mermessus genus spiders, I detected a high frequency and diversity of endosymbiont infection. Within a single species, M. fradeorum …

Maximizing Benefits And Minimizing Impacts: Dual-Earner Couples’ Division Of Household Labor, Matthew W. Carlson

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Several socio-structural theoretical approaches attempt to explain the gendered division of household labor, but the dyadic process of dividing labor has gone largely unexplored. Therefore, a grounded theory approach was taken with 20 dual-earner married couples to uncover the process of dividing household labor between spouses. The theory that emerged indicated that couples seek to maximize benefits in their distribution of labor, and do so by dividing tasks according to personal preferences and proficiencies. When a household task goes unclaimed by both spouses’ preferences and proficiencies, containment and outsourcing are the strategies employed to minimize the impact of the unclaimed …

Disordered Eating Habits And Behaviors Among Elite Collegiate Athletes, Ann M. Armes

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

Eating disorders and disordered eating habits and behaviors were measured using the Eating Disorders Inventory-3 Referral Form (EDI-3 RF). The sample consisted of 159 elite, collegiate student athletes, males and females, aged 18 to 22. Five sports were represented, including basketball, gymnastics, soccer, swimming & diving, and volleyball. Overall, findings support the position that athletes, as a distinct population, and specifically female athletes and those that participate in lean sports, are at an increased risk for disordered eating behaviors and diagnosable eating disorders. Of the 159 total athletes that completed the questionnaire, 33% (n=53) of the athletes sampled met one …

Pharmacovigilance Of Biosimilars, Lipika Chablani

Pharmacy Faculty/Staff Publications

In lieu of an abstract, here is the article's first paragraph:

Biotech industry forms the backbone of the current pharmaceutical products. Seven out of top ten anticipated drugs of the industry in 2014 will be biologics [1]. Considering the fast pace growth of the biotechnological products, there is a parallel demand of biosimilars. As defined by FDA, “A biosimilar is a biological product that is highly similar to a U.S.-licensed reference biological product notwithstanding minor differences in clinically inactive components, and for which there are no clinically meaningful differences between the biological product and the reference product in terms of …

Faculty Usage Of Social Media And Mobile Devices: Analysis Of Advantages And Concerns, D. Roebuck, S. Siha, R. L. Bell

Faculty Articles

This study seeks to understand the perceptions of professors using social media (also called Web 2.0 tools) in the classroom, what kinds of mobile devices are used to access the social media used, and what drives individuals to use them. In addition, it seeks to identify the advantages and concerns faculty has with the use of social media for classroom instruction. Two-Way Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) procedure was used to ascertain whether differences existed between two dependent variables and (a) gender, (b) different academic ranks, and (c) gender *rank to determine if there are any interaction effects between genders …

History Of The Battered Woman Syndrome- A Fallen Attempt To Redefine The Reasonable Person Standard In Domestic Violence Cases., Noel Rivers-Schutte

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Disposition Of Frozen Embryo Disputes: The Alternative Resolution Model, Olga Ugolev

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of The Constitutionality Of The Expansion Of The Dna Collection Statutes To Include Arrestees, Alexander Raytman

Student Works

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The 2003 Invasion Of Iraq, James Zandstra

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Lifeline, Winter 2013, University Of Dayton

Alumni Communications

Alumni publication produced by the Premedical Programs Office at the University of Dayton

Evangelicalism And Religious Pluralism In Contemporary America: Diversity Without, Diversity Within, And Maintaining The Borders, William Vance Trollinger

History Faculty Publications

Not that many people need convincing, but the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) provides confirming evidence that evangelicalism in America is alive and well. In this survey, which involved 54,461 telephone interviews, the 76% of respondents who identified themselves as Christians were asked a follow-up question: "Do you identify as a Born Again or Evangelical Christian?" Forty-five percent answered yes. This number obviously includes a fair number of folks within "mainline" denominations and within predominately African-American churches; more surprising, perhaps, 18.9% of American Catholics identified themselves as "born again" or "evangelical."

If one were to depend solely on the …

Sandwich Generation Caregivers: Ethical Legacies Throughout Generations, Sharon Z. Marts

Doctoral Dissertations

Research Topic

This critical hermeneutic research study explores ethical meanings during a time of dual-generation care and how these interpretations may affect one's view of family life across generations. The research participants in this study were adults situated between young children and dependent elders, who are also termed the "sandwich generation" (Brody 1981; Soldo 1996). By reexamining notions of self and others through narrative, one may see life anew from an ontological perspective not considered beforehand. Through narrative about moments of familial care, new understandings about personal meanings emerge which may or may not have changed over time. From this …

The Power Of The Hula: A Performance Text For Appropriating Identity Among First Hawaiian Youth, Cesily Hong

Doctoral Dissertations

Hawaii is an exotic land with a rich history and a culture imbued with meaning, including the performing arts. Such facets of any land need to be understood and preserved for future generations. The most significant aspect of Hawaiian arts is the hula kahiko, a text in motion, which when performed displays the story of Hawaii's past. The hula was forbidden by Protestant missionaries in the 1820's and was reduced to near cultural extinction. As a result, many First Hawaiians do not clearly understand the richness of their own history. Without this understanding, it is difficult for them to have …

Investigating The Relationship Between Adverse Events And Infrastructure Development In An Active War Theater Using Soft Computing Techniques, Erman Cakit

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The military recently recognized the importance of taking sociocultural factors into consideration. Therefore, Human Social Culture Behavior (HSCB) modeling has been getting much attention in current and future operational requirements to successfully understand the effects of social and cultural factors on human behavior. There are different kinds of modeling approaches to the data that are being used in this field and so far none of them has been widely accepted. HSCB modeling needs the capability to represent complex, ill-defined, and imprecise concepts, and soft computing modeling can deal with these concepts. There is currently no study on the use of …

Biomechanical Factors Influencing Treatment Of Developmental Dysplasia Of The Hip (Ddh) With The Pavlik Harness, Orlando Ardila

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biomechanical factors influencing the reduction of dislocated hips with the Pavlik harness in patients of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) were studied using a simplified three-dimensional computer model simulating hip reduction dynamics in (1) subluxated, and (2) fully dislocated hip joints. The CT-scans of a 6 month-old female infant were used to measure the geometrical features of the hip joint including acetabular and femoral head diameter, acetabular depth, and geometry of the acetabular labrum, using the medical segmentation software Mimics. The lower extremity was modeled by three segments: thigh, leg, and foot. The mass and the location of the …

Go Fish: An Analysis Of Economic Rents In Panamanian Fisheries Against Ecosystem Service Values, David Glassner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Global demand of fish for consumption in developing nations is expected to continue to rise in the near future, putting pressure on stocks that are already overexploited. In the territorial waters of Panama there is a constant struggle between commercial vessels with high yield, subsistence fishermen trying to feed a remote village, and ecosystem services struggling to sustain themselves. These services are the direct and indirect benefits received by the population in the form of food, raw materials, nutrient cycling, and disaster regulation. They are being degraded by illegal and unregulated fishing, bottom trawlers raking the benthos and destroying coral …

The Study Of Photo-Reduction Of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles In Presence Of Dextran: An Attempt In Understanding The Functionality Of The System, Swetha Barkam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Malignant melanoma cancer is the sixth common cancer diagnosed in the United States. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation are some of the successful techniques in killing tumor cells. However, in these techniques, it is not easy to distinguish tumor cells from the healthy once which inadvertently get exposed to chemical agent/radiation. Therefore it is required to develop an anticancer agent which selectively kills the cancer cells, while still protecting the normal tissues. In our preliminary work, we have shown that Dextran (1000Da) coated Cerium oxide nanoparticles (Dex-CNPs) selectively kills the cancer cells (50% killing at a concentration of 150μM) without inducing …

Chemophysical Characteristics And Application Of Biosorption Activated Media (Bam) For Copper And Nutrient Removal In Stormwater Management, Jamie Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For high groundwater table areas, stormwater wet detention ponds are utilized as the preferred stormwater management throughout the state of Florida. Previous research has found that accumulations of nutrients, algae, heavy metals, pesticides, chlorophyll a, fecal coliform bacteria and low concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) are common characteristics of stormwater wet detention ponds. Although these pollutant levels are not regulated within the ponds, states are required to compute the pollutant load reductions through total maximum daily load (TMDL) programs to meet the water quality requirements addressed by the Clean Water Act (CWA). In this study, field sampling data of stormwater …

Tailoring The Properties Of Polyelectrolyte Coated Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles As A Function Of Molecular Weight, Shashank Saraf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The application of Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CNPs) for therapeutic purposes requires a stable dispersion of nanoparticles in biological environment. The objective of this study is to tailor the properties of polyelectrolyte coated CNPs as a function of molecular weight to achieve a stable and catalytic active dispersion. This was achieved by coating CNPs with polyacrylic acid (PAA) which increased the dispersion stability of CNPs and enhanced the catalytic ability. The stability of PAA coating was analysed using the change in the Gibbs free energy computed by Langmuir adsorption model. The adsorption isotherms were determined using soft particle electrokinetics which overcomes …

Transient Multi-Scale Computational Fluid Dynamics (Cfd) Model For Thrombus Tracking In An Assit Device Vascular Bed, Ruben Osorio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Heart failure occurs when the heart is not capable to pump blood at a sufficient rate to meet the demands of the body. Depending on the health of the heart, doctors may recommend a heart transplant, but finding a suitable donor is often a long duration process and the patient might be at an advance condition or the patient is not adequate for a heart transplant. In such cases Ventricular assist devices (VAD) are implemented. The purpose of a VAD is to aid the heart to pump the correct amount of blood, by doing so it relives the load that …

Integrated Data Fusion And Mining (Idfm) Technique For Monitoring Water Quality In Large And Small Lakes, Benjamin Vannah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Monitoring water quality on a near-real-time basis to address water resources management and public health concerns in coupled natural systems and the built environment is by no means an easy task. Furthermore, this emerging societal challenge will continue to grow, due to the ever-increasing anthropogenic impacts upon surface waters. For example, urban growth and agricultural operations have led to an influx of nutrients into surface waters stimulating harmful algal bloom formation, and stormwater runoff from urban areas contributes to the accumulation of total organic carbon (TOC) in surface waters. TOC in surface waters is a known precursor of disinfection byproducts …

Economic Valuation Of Florida Sea Turtles In Face Of Sea Level Rise, Ahmed Hamed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sea level rise (SLR) is posing a great risk of flooding and inundation to coastal areas in Florida. Some coastal nesting species, including sea turtle species, have experienced diminished habitat from SLR. In an effort to assess the economic and ecosystem service loss to coastal areas with respect to sea turtles Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) and Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA) were used. The CVM was used to measure the economic impacts of SLR on sea turtles. Open-ended and dichotomous choice CVM was used to obtain the willingness to pay (WTP) values of Florida residents to implement certain mitigation strategies which …

Assessment, Optimization, And Enhancement Of Ultrafiltration (Uf) Membrane Processes In Potable Water Treatment, Christopher Boyd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation reports on research related to ultrafiltration (UF) membranes in drinking water applications. A pilot-scale investigation identified seasonal surface water quality impacts on UF performance and resulted in the development of a dynamic chemically enhanced backwash protocol for fouling management. Subsequent analysis of UF process data revealed limitations with the use of specific flux, transmembrane pressure (TMP), and other normalization techniques for assessing UF process fouling. A new TMP balance approach is presented that identifies the pressure contribution of membrane fouling and structural changes, enables direct process performance comparisons at different operating fluxes, and distinguishes between physically and chemically …

How Emoticons Affect Leader-Member Exchange, Jennifer Loglia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emoticons have been shown to be the nonverbal cues of computer-mediated communication and could therefore be a rich source of information, but they are not used in the workplace because they are considered unprofessional. This study aimed to look at the effects of emoticons on relationships, specifically between a leader and member. Participants were asked to read a fake email from a fake boss and answer several questions in regard to leader-member exchange, affective presence, perceived message positivity, perceived masculinity/femininity of the fake boss, and perceived professionalism. This study found that the use of a positive emoticon in an email …

Three-Phase Contact Line Phenomena In Droplets On Solid And Liquid Surfaces: Electrocapillary, Pinning, Wetting Line Velocity Effect, And Free Liquid Surface Deformation, Roxana Shabani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation physical phenomena relevant to (i) an interface formed between two fluids and a solid phase (wetting line) and (ii) an interface between three fluids (triple contact line) were investigated. In the former case, the wetting line (WL) phenomena which encompass the wetting line energy (WLE) or pinning, the wetting line velocity (WLV), and the contact angle hysteresis, were studied using a micropump based on electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD). In the latter case, the interfacial phenomena such as the air film lubrication effect and the liquid free surface deformation were taken into account to explain the dual equilibrium …

Bio-Inspired, Varying Manifold Based Method With Enhanced Initial Guess Strategies For Single Vehicle's Optimal Trajectory Planning, Ni Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Trajectory planning is important in many applications involving unmanned aerial vehicles, underwater vehicles, spacecraft, and industrial manipulators. It is still a challenging task to rapidly find an optimal trajectory while taking into account dynamic and environmental constraints. In this dissertation, a unified, varying manifold based optimal trajectory planning method inspired by several predator-prey relationships is investigated to tackle this challenging problem. Biological species, such as hoverflies, ants, and bats, have developed many efficient hunting strategies. It is hypothesized that these types of predators only move along paths in a carefully selected manifold based on the prey’s motion in some of …

Evaluation Of The Biodegradability And Toxicity Of Pca And Mpca, Juan Rueda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main types of hypergolic propellants used at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) are hydrazine (HZ) and monomethylhydrazine (MMH). HZ and MMH are classified as hazardous materials and they are also known to be potentially carcinogenic to humans; therefore, handling these substances and their waste is strictly regulated. The wastes streams from HZ and MMH have been estimated to be the main hazardous wastes streams at KSC. Currently at KSC these wastes are first neutralized using citric acid and then they are transported on public roads for incineration as hazardous materials. A new method using alpha ketoglutaric acid (AKGA) was proposed …

Virtual Interactions With Real-Agents For Sustainable Natural Resource Management, Tyler Pierce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Common pool resource management systems are complex to manage due to the absence of a clear understanding of the effects of users’ behavioral characteristics. Non-cooperative decision making based on individual rationality (as opposed to group rationality) and a tendency to free ride due to lack of trust and information about other users’ behavior creates externalities and can lead to tragedy of the commons without intervention by a regulator. Nevertheless, even regulatory institutions often fail to sustain natural common pool resources in the absence of clear understanding of the responses of multiple heterogeneous decision makers to different regulation schemes. While modeling …

Study Of The Effect Of Surface Morphology On Mass Transfer And Fouling Behavior Of Reverse Osmosis And Nanofiltration Membrane Processes, Yuming Fang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes are pressure driven, diffusion controlled process. The influence of surface characteristics on membrane process performance is considered significant and is not well understood. Current mass transport models generally assume constant mass transfer coefficients (MTCs) based on a homogeneous surface. This work evaluated mass transfer processes by incorporating surface morphology into a diffusion-based model assuming MTCs are dependent on the thickness variation of the membrane’s active layer. To mathematically create such a surface layer, Gaussian random vectors embedded in a software system (MATLAB) were used to generate a three-dimensional ridge and valley active layer …

Life Longing In Older Adults, Tyler A. Gerdin

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

No abstract provided.